Cambodia calls for a ceasefire with Thailand

Cambodia claimed on Friday an “immediate ceasefire” and “unconditional” with Thailand on Friday during an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, after two days of deadly strikes between these two neighboring countries which dispute the layout of their common border.

This long -standing border dispute and degenerated on Thursday in confrontations of violence never seen since 2011, involving combat, tanks, ground troops and artillery fire.

“Cambodia asked for an immediate, unconditional cease-fire and we also called for a peaceful conflict resolution,” said the country’s ambassador at the UN, Chhea Keo, after this closed-door meeting. The two countries accuse each other of having opened fire first and defend their right to defend themselves.

“How can they (the Thai people, editor’s note) accuse us, a small country with an army three times smaller, no air force”, to attack “a big neighbor,” said Chhea Keo.

“We are ready”

Thailand reports for the moment of 15 dead, Cambodia of a dead man. More than 138,000 people were evacuated from the border regions of Thailand, according to the Thai Health Ministry.

The Security Council for its part “called both parties to the restraint, the maximum restraint and a diplomatic solution. This is what we also ask for, “said Chhea Keo. No other participant in this emergency meeting requested by Cambodia wished to express themselves.

Friday, artillery fire was still audible on the Cambodian side of the border. But Thailand has left the door open to negotiations, with Malaysia as possible intermediary.

“We are ready, if Cambodia wishes to settle this question by the diplomatic route, in a bilateral way, or even through Malaysia, we are ready to do so. But so far, we have not received any response, “the spokesman for the Thai Foreign Ministry, Nikorndej Balancura, told AFP before the meeting at the UN.

Malaysia currently chairs the Association of Nations of Southeast Asia (ASEAN), of which Thailand and Cambodia are both members.

“A war”

A little earlier, the acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai warned that the worsening of clashes could lead to “a war”.

These fights constitute a major escalation in the long -standing conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, about their common border of 800 kilometers. The two neighbors dispute his route, defined during French Indochina.

The most violent episode linked to this dispute dates back to clashes around the temple of Preah Vihear between 2008 and 2011, which had left at least 28 dead and tens of thousands of displaced.

A decision by the United Nations International Court of Justice in 2013 resulted in the problem for more than a decade, but the current crisis broke out in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed during a night exchange in the “emerald triangle” area.

Stand -off

Since then, the two countries have been engaged in a large showdown. Friday, fighting resumed in three areas around 04:00 in the morning (Thursday 11:00 p.m. in Switzerland), the Thai army said.

Cambodian forces have bombed with heavy weapons, campaign artillery and BM-21 rocket systems, the army said, and Thai troops retaliated “with appropriate support fire”.

In the Cambodian city of Samraong, 20 kilometers from the border, several families with their belongings at the back of their vehicle were fleeing at full speed, AFP journalists found. Among them, Pro Bak, 41, hoped to find refuge in a Buddhist temple with his wife and children. “I live very close to the border. We are afraid, ”he said.

AFP

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